So near, yet so far

A year that began with a nerve-jangling finale to Steve Waugh's farewell Test ended with a shambolic one-day defeat to Bangladesh, and in between, Indian cricket took in more peaks and troughs than the average submersible on the sea-bed. The team that even Waugh acclaimed as second only to his near-invincibles last January logged a deflating series loss to Australia and a string of abysmal one-day performances that left them perilously close to the bottom of the scrap-heap.

It had all started so promisingly, with the spectacular hijacking of the Waugh farewell . VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar scripted glorious centuries as India piled up 705, and but for two magnificent knocks from Simon Katich - not to mention a curmudgeonly 80 from Waugh on the final afternoon - Anil Kumble would have bowled India to the most storied series win in her history.

Three months later, the pain of that near miss was alleviated by the conquering of a frontier that had hitherto been impenetrable. Having withstood the pressure of global attention - even CNN started a news bulletin with references to the opening game - India edged out Pakistan 3-2 in the one-day series, before administering two crushing innings defeats in Tests at Multan and Rawalpindi. The first of those was dominated by the free-stroking Virender Sehwag, whose romp to 309 surpassed Laxman's Kolkata effort of 2001 as the highest score made by an Indian, and the furore over the declaration that deprived Tendulkar of a double-hundred.

Though Pakistan regrouped to square the series in Lahore, they were routed in the final Test, as Rahul Dravid reeled off one of his rock-of-ages efforts for 270. Demoralised by the sheer weight of Indian runs, Pakistan were also undone by some exceptional bowling, with Irfan Pathan - the most exciting talent India has unearthed since Tendulkar - and Lakshmipathy Balaji providing sterling support for the ubiquitous Kumble.

After that series, Sourav Ganguly spoke of how only a mite more consistency was required to move within menacing range of the Australians. But once India came back after a three-month sojourn to play incalculably poor and pallid cricket, Ganguly's pronouncement seemed like a poorly-timed jibe at fate. With players and officials still thrashing out details of central contracts, the team stumbled in the final of the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, and then made depressingly early exits from the one-day tournament in Amstelveen and the ICC Champions Trophy. On all three occasions, India were given a walloping by a Pakistan side that appeared to be far more innovative and dangerous under Bob Woolmer.

With the season having started under the haze of defeat, the last thing India cricket needed was a thunderstorm to wash away many of the gains of the previous two years. But that was precisely what it got, with the disgraceful events at the BCCI elections - still under scrutiny by the Supreme Court - and the tug-of-war over TV rights doing irreparable damage to preparation ahead of the showpiece series against Australia.

Jagmohan Dalmiya's unquenched thirst for power and influence manifested itself in the form of four electoral votes and the installation of a puppet president - Ranbir Singh Mahendra - whose sole claim to notoriety lay in a scathing report that almost ruined Ganguly's career when he was tour manager to Australia in 1991-92. And with the BCCI having become the Augean Stables, the TV-rights golden goose was nearly carved apart by Zee, a network with a conspicuous lack of pedigree in cricket broadcasting, and ESPN-Star, whose august standards had slipped as a result of pandering to TRPs and the page 3 fan.

In such a backdrop, defeat against Australia was almost inevitable, especially once the visitors unveiled the glittering talent of Michael Clarke during the opening Test at Bangalore. Humbled in that game, and then stymied by inclement weather in Chennai, India plumbed the depths on a green-tinged Nagpur surface where Australia meted out a fearful 342-run hammering. Victory on a Cambodian-minefield pitch in Mumbai meant little in the final analysis, merely expressing the desperation of a side that had lost its way.

Facile Test victories over South Africa and Bangladesh - illuminated only by Kumble and Tendulkar surpassing individual landmarks - glossed over the inadequacies in the final months, but a Boxing-Day knockout courtesy the world's weakest one-day side was another none-too-subtle reminder of how far the World Cup finalists have fallen. A team that started the year dreaming of life beyond the clouds ended it with feet firmly rooted to terra firma, and petty administrators with all the credibility of a tawdry music-hall act can take much of the dubious credit for that.

Anil Kumble proved that it was never too late to get better. He shook off the years and shrugged off suggestions that he was past his best by harvesting 74 wickets, the most he has ever taken in calendar year. With a bit of help from the end and kinder umpires, he could have bowled India to a series win Australia at the beginning of year and at the end of year, he became India's highest wicket taker in Test. And he is far from finished.

Virender Sehwag was the only Indian batsman whose Test form lasted through the year even though he copped a miserable half in one-day cricket. He added three hundreds, one of them a triple, to his tally and stood tall amidst the rubble in the home series against Australia.

India in 2004
	MATCHES	WON	LOST	DRAWN-NR
TESTS	12	6	3	3
ODI	32	15	16	1